My dad was always a stickler about safety. …Always wear your seatbelt, always be cautious around power tools, never look at the light from the welder and always wear your helmet!

Thanks to my parents, I was lucky enough to have a horse as a kid and compete in horse shows for 4-H and Pony Club. We also went trail riding often in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana…where ever the trail led! Every once and a while I could get away with not wearing a helmet but most of them time (99%) I had to wear my helmet. Even though my dad never had to! 🙄😝 Just kidding. I didn’t really mind most of the time. It was drilled in our brains the risks of horseback riding and not wearing a helmet. Plus, once I switched from western to english, I was more inclined to jump the fallen logs and shrubbery through the trails. It was a lot of fun. Sometimes, at Oak Openings (a local nature preserve and park) my parents and I would come to a long stretch of path that was pretty wide as well. We would gallop from one end to the other and see who could get to the other side faster. Last time I remember doing that, my dad won on Big Jake.

I had a lot of good times at shows and on the trail. I’m glad I have so many memories on horseback with my dad. Too many to share in one post but there are a couple more equestrian related sketches coming for this project so you’ll be able to hear another horse tale in the future.

Thanks for stopping by! And always wear your helmet!

Stay safe, free spirits!